


After Midnight

by Katarina Paganov (KatiePai)



Category: Original Work, Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alice Cullen is a Goth, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Twilight but it's good, Bella Swan with a Backbone, Bisexual Bella Swan, Edward Cullen Being An Asshole, Emmett Cullen is a Nerd, F/F, F/M, Fix Twilight, Fix-It, Human/Vampire Relationship, LGBTQ Female Character, No Esme Cullen, Rosalie Hale is not a Bitch, Slow To Update, The Author Regrets Everything, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Twilight Parody, Twilight Spitefic, Vampire Bites, Vampires, all of this was written out of spite, based on that one pic of kristen steward and margot robbie, honesty this is the twilight au we all needed in our life, i am not joking, rewriting twilight, twilight but it's queer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24716416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatiePai/pseuds/Katarina%20Paganov
Summary: "This is dangerous, Bea. I am dangerous.""What if I like dangerous?", I asked back, cocky smile on my lips.~~~~~At a dorm party, Bea meets the mysterious Morans after she moved back to her dad's house after 10 years. Specifically Anthony, with his caramel locks and his cheeky grin. And it looks like Bea also caught his eye, but there is one problem: The Morans keep an ancient, dark secret and Bea is awfully close to unraveling it.Is Bea going to become a player in this dangerous game? And how will she deal with the truth, once turning back is too late?~~~
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 4





	1. FARGO

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [After Midnight](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/632902) by Me. 



> Yeah, this is related to my YouTube video series "Rewriting Twilight" because I hate this series too much.
> 
> I hope y'all are ready for a really bumpy ride.

Death sounded so much like the better option right now, instead, I was sitting at the passenger’s seat of our car on my way to the airport and was pouting to myself.

“Why the long face?”, my mother asked with a concerned look, “I thought you were excited!”

I sighed, while I was trying to find the right words. “I am. It’s just … the flight is so long.”

“It’s just three hours, honey”, my mother tried to soothe me.

“Yes and another hour added to that by train”, I rolled my eyes.

I was terrified by the thought of having to run across the train station with all my luggage. To my mother’s request I packed more than I actually needed; “Just in case”, she said and promised me to pay for the excess weight. The fact that sweaters and jeans weighed more than spaghetti strap tops and skirts.

I continued to stare out of my window sullenly while we were driving through the seemingly endless desert. I felt like this ride was going to prepare me for the coming months. Bleak, empty and lonely.

Well, maybe not entirely lonely. I’d be living with my dad, but in theory it was lonely. I couldn’t live without the big cities, the noise, the people, the heat of California. What was I supposed to in a small, rainy town somewhere up north?

“Remember to say hello to your dad from me”, mom said while she was accompanying me to the gate once we had arrived at the airport. It was slightly embarrassing, having to stand here with two huge suitcases and two backpacks. But I had to bring my things to dad’s somehow.

“I will, mom”, I said and let myself be crushed by her hug.

“Take care, will you?”, she said and patted my arm, a gesture to calm herself down, not me.

“I will, mom.”

“And you’ll write me once you’re home, yes?”

“Yes, mom.”

“I love you, honey”, she said finally and gave me a kiss onto my forehead.

“I love you, too”, I said, once the queue at the gate moved. “See you.”

The flight itself was alright, well it was an economy class flight, after all. But with my luck I ended up in a middle row seat right in between a sugar-hyped child that his mother wasn’t able (or didn’t want to) calm down and someone who kept kicking my seat. That was something loud music wasn’t able to fix.

After I had to wait for my luggage for about half an hour at the destination airport, I called a cab to the train station. If I was lucky, I’d be able to catch my train on time. If not, I’d burst a lung running and would be stuck there until tomorrow. I hoped for the former. Internally, I noted that I shouldn’t book everything so tightly together.

I paid and was helped with my luggage because I apparently looked to dumb to do that by myself or something und ran towards my platform, which turned out to be at the other end of the building. I arrived just in time with the train at the platform and managed to find a seat for myself and for my luggage which earned me a nasty looked by some of the other passengers. If I had more courage, I would’ve said something witty at them.

As I was leaving the train after another hour, I saw dad already waiting on the platform.

“Hi”, I greeted him a little out of breath, once he saw me struggling with my luggage once again.

“Hi Bea”, he greeted back and hugged me with one arm once I wasn’t blocking the exit anymore, “How’s Jo?”

“She’s fine”, I said, free again, “She said to say hello.”

Once dad relived me from one suitcase and one backpack, I saw him grinning a little bit, although it was just a stupid little pleasantry. Both suitcases and the larger travel bag fit snugly into the car trunk, the smaller backpack had to fit between my legs on the passenger’s seat.

“I’m glad that you’re back”, dad said after he started the car’s engine and left he parking lot.

“Yeah”, I better did not say that I was only glad to see him, not to actually be here.

“Hey, um”, he then said after a while. “I found a car for you.”

Surprised by the fact that he remembered my request, I turned towards him. “Oh! What kind of car?”

“Yeah, really nice, really cheap.”

“Mhmm? And else?”

“Terry sold it to me after I told him that you were looking for one. Do you remember Terry?”

“Uh…”, I tried to remember, probably for a little to long, because dad chimed in.

“We went fishing together back then. You played with his daughters. Candace and Riley?”

“Nope, I don’t remember”, I confessed.

“His youngest worked a little on it, so it’s a pretty decent car.”

“Oh, it’s not just a used car?”, I asked once it became clear there was a catch.

Dad just scrunched his face at my question. “Well, it maybe had been really _new_ in the eighties. But the car is great! I drove it myself to test!”

I sighed. I was gonna believe him. “How much?”

Mom gave me some money, for College, for I had to get there somehow. If money was going to be tight, I still could get a job.

“Well…”

“Daaaaaaaad.”

“Yeah, well, you know Bea, I actually already bought it.”

“You did _what_?”

“See it as a welcome gift!”, he defended himself.

“Ha, alright”, I laughed a little breathless, “Okay, wow. Thanks, dad.”

“Don’t mention it. I want you to be happy here.”

I saw him smile a little bit and had to grin a little myself. Maybe it wasn’t going to be half bad here.

Dad was uncomplicated, a little like myself. He didn’t demand anything from me once I told him that I’d be living with him for the duration of my studies. He asked me to help him with the housekeeping and that I should cook once in a while. He didn’t want me to pay rent for one of the dorm rooms, he didn’t even want that I paid him rent.

We exchanged some words about the weather. I said that I didn’t like the rain, he said that it’ll be better in spring. After that, neither of us said anything and pleasant silence filled the car’s interior. Instead of breaking it, I stared outside the window. It was hard to believe that just earlier in the day I was driving through a desert and now I was driving through a town that was so wet and so _green_.

After a few minutes, we finally reached dad’s house. He still lived in the cozy, double-story house at the end of the road that I remembered. Once we came closer to the house, I noticed another car in the driveway.

“Oh my god”, escaped my mouth when I saw it close up.

The car was just as old as I imagined it and it was a bright red VW Rabbit, which clearly had had a paint job.

“Do you like it?”, dad asked carefully once we exited the his car.

“I mean … wow!”, I said, a little shocked, “It looks great!”

“It also drives great. Terry’s boy did a good job with it”, he reinforced.

I just nodded before I hugged my dad with a squeak.

“Thanks, dad!”, I repeated. A car was a car, even if it was an old VW.

Dad helped me with the luggage once again, especially because there was no way I would’ve managed to carry everything into the second floor through the narrow staircase.

“Dinner is ready”, dad said and rubbed the back of his neck, “You can unpack, come downstairs to eat once you’re done, okay?”

“Okay”, I responded and waited until he shut the door, before I let myself fall onto my bed face downwards.

My old room hadn’t changed a bit but I was sure that dad must have at least vacuumed. My bed was still in the spot where it had always been: Right across of the pine dresser, because of which the door wasn’t entirely openable. Across the door was the only window to the room in front of a large window sill that my mom prepped ages ago with throw cushions, so I had a cozy reading spot. My bookshelf was also still where it had been, except for the fact that it had been empty since we moved out. My desk was also still present. So small that a desktop PC wouldn’t have quite fit on there, with dad’s old office chair made out of brown leather. And it still smelled in here like I remembered; like old wood and dust.

  
I turned onto my back first before sliding off the bed to actually unpack my belongings. I didn’t want dad to keep waiting unnecessarily, so I half-heartedly crammed my clothes into the dresser and dumped the contents of my backpack onto my desk. The rest would have to wait until the end of next week. Maybe. Hopefully.

Hastily, I stomped down the stairs after having thrown my vanity bag into the bathroom and having sent a message to mom. Dad was sitting on the couch, watching a soccer game on TV. He had his back turned to me and only noticed me when I walked into the kitchen, past him.

“Done already?”, he asked a little surprised and followed me.

“Not yet”, I said and noticed the baking dish on the counter. Potato gratin, yum. “Will do it later.”

Dad just nodded. I got two plates from the cabinet above me while dad was cutting up the gratin with a spatula. We ate in peace on the couch and kept silent. The noise coming from the TV was a welcome substitute for my mom’s endless talking.

Once I was done, I went to rinse my plate in the sink. Even after all this time, dad still hadn’t gotten himself a dishwasher. Why should he? He probably was eating out all the time anyways.

“Any plans for tonight?”, dad asked when he entered the kitchen to rinse his own plate, once I placed mine into the dishrack.

“I wanted to take a shower”, I said, “Gonna go to bed after that, I think.”

Dad nodded again, not before having taken a controlling glace at the clock above the door frame. He probably was wondering why his adult daughter didn’t want to stay awake until midnight, but he also seemed to understand that the journey here had been a little exhausting. That’s why he didn’t say anything but “Good night.”

I needed a moment to get used to the shower, so my water wasn’t either ice cold or scorching hot. I grabbed a bottle of shampoo and shower gel from my vanity bag and tugged the shower curtain closed, which immediately felt the need to stick to my body. I tried to kick it off somehow before rubbing shampoo into my hair while I was mentally preparing myself for the upcoming day.

I told myself that everything was okay. It wouldn’t be like last time in Santa Barbara. I wouldn’t be the “new girl”, sticking out like a sore thumb with my pale skin. I wouldn’t be one of the “Freaks”, not an outsider. This was a new beginning, _my_ new beginning. There was something soothing about not being the only new one, like back then. I was one of 700, one of many. The classes were large enough so I wouldn’t stick out, so I wouldn’t have to make friends. It wasn’t sure at this point, if I would stay anyways, so it would be rude to make friends only to leave them behind, right? That’s not what I wanted. I didn’t relate to people well, never had. Mom always used to say that I was shy, but what couldn’t be true.

With a sigh, I stopped my train of thought and shut the water off. I blow dried my hair and brushed my teeth before finally going to bed. Maybe everything was going to be alright, maybe I just was afraid of the unknown.

Apparently so afraid that I didn’t fall asleep until 3 am and woke up like I haven’t slept at all. I was not going to let dad notice that, however. He would just be worried and that was the last thing I wanted, even though he would never show it.

After I was done in the bathroom, I put everything I needed for the day – or thought I would need – into my bagpack and left it beside my door. Breakfast with dad was alright. He wished me a nice day at college before he left for work, while I stayed behind and warmed myself a plate of left-over gratin for lunch. Once I was done with cleaning up, I threw a glance toward the clock. It was too early to get going, way too early. According to the internet, it would take me 20 minutes to get there and the welcoming would start at six.

I got my phone from my backpack and threw myself back into bed, to check my time table. The college forced us to download their app in which we could find everything. Welcome to the 21st century.

At half past five, I switched my t-shirt for a sweater and put my phone back before I got into my new car. Only once I reached the highway, I noticed how glaring it was. Everything here was grey. Boring. Normal. Ordinary. Everything I was going to be.

The way to college was simple: Straight ahead. Once I parked my car on the parking lot and exited, I asked myself why a small as town as this one even had a college. Was it some kind of grand scheme by the higher ups to lower the average age?

I released a relieved sigh when I saw the large banner in front of the main building that read “Freshmen” with a big arrow pointing to another, smaller building. I didn’t have to ask anybody for the way, luckily.

The signs inside let me to believe that this bulding was usually used for smaller lectures, judging by the size of the rooms. They had been opened to connect to a single, large room where all freshmen could take place in. When I glanced through one of the doors, I noticed that there were people already chatting inside. Yikes.

I entered and looked for a seat both as close as possible to the exit and one of the walls. There were no wooden seating rows, only chairs.

There were no classes today, only the welcoming and the following party, which I wasn’t really excited for. If I was lucky, I could not attend it at all or just get a nice quiet spot where I could just ride this out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my writing, feel free to support me at ko-fi.com/krostina


	2. 2 - GOLDEN

The Welcoming was exactly as boring as I imagined it would be and still it managed to last over an hour. If my seat hadn’t had been that close to one of the speakers, I maybe would’ve been able to nap but nothing was free in life.

After it was over and we were finally released, I bolted for the door like everyone else. I tried to push through between two guys and was pushed by someone behind me, leading to me falling into the girl in front of me. She lost her bag and I my chance to go through this day unnoticed.

“Shit, sorry”, I cursed and helped gather her pencils.

“It’s okay”, she assured and once we both got up from the floor, I shockingly noticed that she was a whole head taller than me. “Happens when a lot of people squeeze through a door.”

She put her shoulderbag back onto her shoulder and reached out for me with her hand as if she forgot. “Hi, by the way! I’m Eliza.”

“Bea, nice to meet you”, I said in reflex, instead of getting out of here.

“Uhm”, she nervously said once we made our way towards the exit to not clog up the entire congregation, “Are you going to the party?”

I cringed. Was it rude to decline now?

“I wanted to check in on it for a bit, yeah”, I nodded.

“Oh, good”, she sighed, sounding clearly relieved, “A friend asked me to wait for her there and I didn’t want to go alone.”

Ah well, I should’ve said no. Now I was going to be the fifth wheel. I still asked her where the party was going to be held.

“Oh”, she said a little surprised and fumbled with the strap of her bag, “It’s not far from here. Hard to miss.”

And hard to miss it was. After about ten minutes of walking we left the main campus and arrived in what looked like a small neighborhood where we joined a larger group of students. We followed them to a larger house – from the outside a little larger than dad’s – and entered.

Right after we found ourselves in the entrance hall, we were given two plastic cups by a grinning girl. I nudged Eliza with my elbow and said: “Come, we’ll look for a quiet corner.”

I felt reassured by Eliza’s smile and we found a couch in one of the room that looked like a repurposed living room.

“You said you were waiting for a friend?”, I asked to bridge the silence a bit. The music wasn’t very loud in this corner, so we could chat for a bit.

“Yeah, she wasn’t at the welcoming, that’s why she’s a little late.”

I nodded and took a sip of the watered-down beer in my cup.

“She started last semester”, Eliza added as an explanation and I pretended that I cared.

“Oh, there she is!”, Eliza then exclaimed and waved to someone I couldn’t see from where I was sitting.

A moment later a girl appeared that looked like I imagined the stereotypical Californian girl: Slightly wavy, blonde hair, a touch of too much tan, clothes that clung to all the right places to show of her curves and a big smile on her face. She looked what I should’ve looked like.

“Hi!”, she shouted loudly and in that annoying, stretched-out manner before she gave Eliza a high-five, “How’s going?”

“Fine, fine”, Eliza laughed and moved slightly to the side to make room for her, but the girl had already wandered off and came back with a chair that she sat down on the wrong way.

“Who’s that?”, she asked Eliza, but looked at me.

“That’s Bea”, I was introduced and the girl immediately gave me her hand.

“Hi Bea! I’m Carleigh! C-A-R-L-E-I-G-H”, she spelled as if this was a spelling-bee contest.

After I gave her my hand, she rested her chin on her folded hands.

“So what’s your major, Bea? No, wait! Let me guess! You wanna study something really boring!”

“Carleigh!”, Eliza tried to shush her.

“What? Look at her! She’s clearly not in for Social Science or Liberal Arts!”

She wasn’t wrong about that, but it still felt kinda insulting.

“Your major is”, Carleigh began and narrowed her eyes as if she could activate some kind of X-Ray vision, “Math. No, no, wait! Computer Science! You’re in for Computer Science, right?”

I furrowed my brows. “No”, I said bluntly.

“Hm, dang”, the girl pouted, “I’m usually really good at guessing things about people.”

“What is your major then?”, Eliza asked, genuinely curious and suddenly I felt really self-conscious about it.

“English Literature”, I said quietly and took another sip because my mouth was suddenly feeling dry.

First, I saw how Carleigh rolled her eyes and then how Eliza’s face began to beam.

“Me too!”, she said excitedly, “I’d be happy if we had some classes together!”

I mumbled something along the lines of “Hm, yeah” or “Same” and took another sip. Thank god that stuff was watered down or else I’d be red as a tomato already.

“Anyways”, Carleigh said and got up from her chair, “I’m gonna leave you two nerds alone for now, see ya!”

And with that she was back into the party.

“Sorry”, Eliza sighed, “Carleigh is a handful but she’s not mean.”

“It’s okay”, I sighed as well. I’d be glad if I never had to see her again. But my chances were poor if these two were friends and one of them was in my major.

“Why are you keeping up with her if you say that yourself, anyway?”, I asked and in hindsight, that was a little rude.

“I don’t”, Eliza confessed, “We were in the same class up until 9th grade and we’re kinda friends since then. After a while you learn to deal with it.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah”, she ended the topic.

I really didn’t want to learn to deal with it. I was thankful for Eliza’s gentleness but I would gladly go without Carleigh. I saw way too many girls like her in Highschool and I lost the patience to deal with those kinds of people years ago.

We had a little smalltalk after that, talking about our classes and Fargo until Eliza seemed to notice something in the corner of her eye and grimaced.

I followed her glance and noticed a couple standing in the doorway across the room.

“What are they doing here?”, she groaned quietly.

“What about them?”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t say that”, Eliza followed up too quickly, “I know them from highschool.”

“Mhm, had trouble with them?”, I asked curiously.

“No that’s not it…”, Eliza said nervously, “I just didn’t like them. I know that sounds mean, especially because Phoebe is really nice.”

The mentioned girl was tiny and waifish, who honestly didn’t look older than 16. Her hair was dark and shaved, her clothed black-on-black; black top, black cardigan, black shorts, fishnets and black boots. The only thing ‘colorful’ about her were the countless silver necklaces around her neck.

She linked arms with a guy who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. He was dressed in a red shirt and black jeans.

“What about him?”, I asked.

“That’s her fiancé. They’re part of the Moran family.”

“Wait”, I interrupted her because I wasn’t sure if I got this correctly. We’re not in Alabama after all.

“They’re not related, oh God!”, Eliza explained quickly and waved her hands. Her beer was gone, she probably gave it to Carleigh while I wasn’t paying attention. “They’re quite a big family but I don’t think you’ll see much of them except Dr. Moran and his youngest son.”

“Hm”, I hummed and tried to take another sip, only to notice that my cup was empty.

“I’m gonna get something to drink”, I said and got up, “I’m right back.”

The music got louder and louder the farther away I got from our couch and tried to get through the dancing and laughing crowd towards the buffet; if you could actually call it that. It was a large kitchen table that had some beer bottles, a bowl of bowle and some snacks on it.

Excitedly, I took one of the sandwiched, trying not to think about how long the mayo inside of it was out of the fridge already and tried to open a bottle with the bottle opener that was tied to one of the table legs.

While I was trying to get the last piece of sandwich down with my beer, I suddenly heard a “Hey” from my side, startling me, making me almost drop my bottle.

I glared at whoever said this and started laughing at me only to look into a pretty face. High cheekbones, shiny blue eyes and nicely-done caramel-colored locks. In short: Most likely an asshole.

“Sorry, sorry”, he laughed, “May I?”

I made a step backwards and he also took a bottle of beer, before turning back to me.

“I’m Anthony”, he laughed.

“And I’m gone.”

Guys like this never wanted anything to do with me in school so there was no reason they would now, expect if Fargo was part of a strange alternative reality, which wasn’t very likely.

“Wait, don’t be like that”, he laughed again and quickly blocked the door, my only mean of escape. “I’m new here just like you.”

I ground my teeth and waited for him to continue.

“What major are you in?”, he asked and I thought that I imagined him sounding genuinely interested.

“English Lit”, I said and wondered why everyone found that so interesting.

“No way! I’m in English Literature as well!”

It took my brain a moment to process this, leading to me just mumbling “Good for you” like the English Lit student I was.

“Which classes do you have tomorrow?”, he asked and casually leaned into the door way, as if this was gonna take long.

“Uh”, I said and tried to remember what I saw in the app today morning, “Introduction to Literature and Introduction to Poetry, I think.”

“Great, me too!”, he grinned and got out of the doorway, “See ya!”

“Yeah, see ya”, I mumbed and was already out of the room.

“Hi”, I said to Eliza once I returned and she greeted me with “Welcome back.”

I stayed for as long as I had my beer and until Carleigh found us again, what I took as my cue to get out of here. I didn’t want to stay any longer and with her, Eliza wasn’t lonely at least. So I didn’t have to deal with a bad consciousness while I was looking for my car in the parking lot.

Once I got in, I saw that it was barely past nine. With a little luck, dad would maybe believe that I was driving home completely sober.

The streets themselves (or street to be exact) was completely devoid of life. No other cards, motorcycles or even wildlife from the nearby forest as far as the eye could see. To be honest, this didn’t surprise me, it wasn’t like there were any clubs or bars to be on your way to here.

Das was already home when I arrived and I left my car in a way so that he wouldn’t have any trouble leaving tomorrow.

Inside, I dropped my keys onto the dresser next to the door, between a bowl of knickknacks that carried the decorative signature of mom and a photo of me and dad, back when I was little and he was happy.

I got out of my jacket, hung it up and tried to pull the tied shoes from my feet, leading to me bumping my elbow into the dresser.

“Bea?”, I heard dad’s voice coming from the living room.

“Yeah? Ouch, fuck”, I followed up quieter.

“You’re home early. It’s not even close to midnight.”

I followed his voice into the room next door and sat down on the couch.

“It got boring”, I said when I let myself fall into the old cushions.

Dad snorted in amusement. “Did you at least meet somebody nice? Or did you stay in a corner and pouted?”

I snorted back and earned a look with a raised eyebrow from him for that.

“Met someone from English Lit. Eliza”, I said and noticed that there probably was more than once Eliza in this town, “Eliza something. Tall, long brown hair, round glasses, kinda shy?”

“Oh!”, dad exclaimed once I described her more closely, “That’s probably Reverent Michealson’s daughter! She’s really nice and I’d be happy if you two would get along.”

“Hm, maybe”, I said and looked at the TV. Not because I found whatever was shown there interesting, but because I didn’t know how to continue this conversation.

“Was there alcohol?”

“Daaaaaaad!”, I said stretched and slightly annoyed.

“Bea.”

“Of course there was alcohol! It’s a dorm party or whatever.”

“Did you drink?”

I ground my teeth. “You know your daughter! She’s an honest and upstanding member of-“

“Was it dishwater?”, dad interrupted.

“Yeah.”

And dad laughed. “Good to know that nothing has changed since I was in college.”

I laughed as well and got up. “I think I’m gonna get to bed. Gotta get up early tomorrow.”

“Alright, good night Bea.”

“Good night dad!”, I said from the stairwell and went upstairs.

After a while I even managed to find my pajamas in my duffle bag, got changed and to bed.

My first day here and I already managed to get caught up with a blonde bimbo, an intrusive but pretty fuckboy and the daughter of a reverent.

Maybe my time here would be not as boring as I thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like what I post and want to keep this story goind, consider supporting me on ko-fi.com/krostina


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